ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister meets Sikh Delegation at his residence today
Delegation offered prasad and blessings from Gurudwara Shri Bala Sahib Ji which had organised ‘Akhand paath’ on PM’ birthday
Delegation honoured PM by tying a Pagdi and offering a Siropa
Delegation thanked the PM for his path breaking initiatives for the honour and welfare of the Sikh community
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met with a Sikh delegation at his residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg today.
Delhi’s Gurudwara Shri Bala Sahib Ji had organised an ‘Akhand paath’ to mark the occasion of the Prime Minister’s birthday. The ‘Akhand paath’ which started on 15th September, culminated on the day of Prime Minister’s Birthday, 17th September. The Sikh delegation visited the Prime Minister and offered prasad and blessings from the Gurudwara.
During the meeting, the Sikh delegation honoured the Prime Minister by tying a Pagdi and offering a Siropa. An ardas was also performed for the Prime Minister’s long life and good health. The delegation also thanked the Prime Minister for the path breaking initiatives taken by him for the honour and welfare of the Sikh community. They recounted several efforts done by the Prime Minister including declaring 26 December as “Veer Baal Divas”, reopening the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, removal of GST on langars run by gurudwaras, ensuring that the copies of Guru Granth Sahib reached India from Afghanistan, among others.
The Sikh delegation comprised of Shri Tarvinder singh Marwah, President of All India Kendriya Guru Singh Sabha; Shri Veer Singh, Working President of All India Kendriya Guru Singh Sabha; Shri Naveen Singh Bhandari, Delhi head of Kendriya Guru Singh Sabha; Shri Harbans Singh, President of Gurudwara Singh Sabha, Tilak Nagar; and Shri Rajinder Singh, Head Granthi of Gurudwara Singh Sabha.
Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
The President of India launchesweb-portal of “National Youth Parliament Scheme”
A special function on the occasion to commemorate 70th Anniversary of adoption of the Constitution of India, - “SamvidhanDiwas” was organized in the Central Hall of Parliament today.
The President of India, Vice President, Prime Minister, Speaker and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs graced the occasion and addressed the gathering of the Members of both Houses of Parliament.
On this occasion, the President Shri Ram NathKovindlaunched the Web-Portal of “National Youth Parliament Scheme”.
Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has been implementing Youth Parliament programme since 1966 in Schools under the Directorate of Education, Government of NCT of Delhi and NDMC, KendriyaVidyalayas, JawaharNavodayaVidyalayas and Universities/ Colleges. So far, around 8,000 educational institutions and more than 4,00,000 students have been covered under the Youth Parliament programme of the Ministry.
The web-portal of the National Youth Parliament Scheme is available at www.nyps.mpa.gov.in. The main objective of the portal is to increase the outreach of the youth parliament programme of the Ministry to hitherto untouched sections and corners of the country.
The salient features of the portal are:-
- All recognised educational institutions of the country are eligible to participate in this programme.
- The registration for participation will be done by the education institutions through the web-portal.
- E-training modules, videos, photographs and scripts are available on the portal for online self-learning of the participants.
- After successful registration, the educational institutions will be able to conduct youth parliament sittings in their respective institutions.
- Each student taking part in the sitting will get a Digital ‘Certificate of Participation’ and each Teacher-in-charge and Head of Institution will get a ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ through the web portal.
This portal will give shape to Prime Minister’s vision of organizing youth parliaments in all parts of the country.
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister addresses Business Roundtable in Sydney
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed a Business Roundtable with CEOs of top Australian companies in Sydney today.
The participating CEOs represented leading companies operating across a diverse range of sectors including steel, banking, energy, mining and IT, among others. Vice Chancellors from some of the leading Universities of Australia also participated in the Roundtable.
Prime Minister highlighted numerous economic reforms and initiatives launched by the government for ease of doing business and boosting economic growth. These include, Mission Gati Shakti for integrated approach towards infrastructure connectivity projects; Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile trinity; National Education Policy; Hydrogen Mission 2050; PLI scheme; opening of private investment in domain of space and geospatial sector; new policy of medical devices manufacturing; Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme, etc.
Prime Minister invited the CEOs to take advantage of investment opportunities offered by India in domains of infrastructure including digital infrastructure, IT, fintech, telecom, semiconductors, space, renewable energy including green hydrogen, education, pharma, healthcare including medical devices manufacturing, mining including critical minerals, textile, agriculture & food processing.
Prime Minister encouraged the CEOs to forge mutually beneficial partnerships with their Indian counterparts.
The CEOs that participated in the Roundtable are as under:
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S. No.
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COMPANY
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EXECUTIVE
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1.
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Commonwealth Bank of Australia
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Mr. Matt Comyn, President and CEO
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2.
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Rio Tinto
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Ms. Kellie Parker, CEO
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3.
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National Australia Bank
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Mr. Philip Chronican, Chairman and Non-Executive Director
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4.
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Australian Industry Bank
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Mr. Innes Willox, CEO
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5.
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BHP
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Ms. Geraldine Slattery, President Australia
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6.
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Atlassian
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Mr. Scott Farquhar, Co-CEO and Co-Founder
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7.
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University of Sydney
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Prof. Mark Scott AO, Vice-Chancellor & President
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8.
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Orica
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Mr. Sanjeev Gandhi, Managing Director and CEO
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9.
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Cochlear
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Mr. Dig Howitt, Chair
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10.
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Business Council of Australia
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Ms. Jennifer Westacott, CEO
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11.
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Wisetech
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Mr. Richard White, CEO & Founder
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12.
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Airtrunk
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Mr. Robin Khuda, Founder and CEO
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13.
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Entura
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Ms. Tammy Chu, Managing Director
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14.
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Quintis Sandalwood
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Mr. Richard Henfrey, CEO
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15.
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UNSW
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Prof. Attila Brungs, Vice Chancellor and CEO
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16.
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Recharge Industries
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Mr. Robert Fitzpatrick, CEO
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17.
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Universities Australia
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Ms. Catriona Jackson, Chief Executive
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18.
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Centre for Australia-India Relations
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Ms. Swati Dave, Chair, Advisory Board
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19.
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Navitas Group
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Mr. Scott Jones, CEO
Ministry of Defence
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh to inaugurate three-day International Conference on Defence Finance & Economics in New Delhi on 12th April
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the three-day International Conference on Defence Finance & Economics in New Delhi on April 12, 2023. The conference, organised by Ministry of Defence , will provide a platform for eminent policy makers, academics and government officials from within the country and abroad to share their insights and experiences on Defence Finance and Economics in the context of evolving security challenges and policies globally. Delegates from USA, UK, Japan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Kenya will participate in the conference.
The conference aims to foster dialogue and collaboration among the participants and contribute to the country's defence readiness with optimum financial resources and effective implementation of the Defence Budget. It aims to participate in global discussions on Defence Finance & Economics and propose a sustainable blueprint on the subject.
The objective behind the conference is to disseminate the best practices, experiences and expertise of various countries and align processes in Indian context with international standards. It also hopes to facilitate collaborations with foreign governments, international institutions and global leaders in the domain of Defence Finance and Economics to support the Government's ongoing efforts on indigenisation and self-reliance in the Defence sector, and to advance transformative reforms.
The topics of discussion will include current challenges and opportunities in the areas of Defence Finance and Economics, such as how to allocate and use resources efficiently & effectively and how to manage logistics in a cost-conscious way. The participants will also deliberate upon different models and practices of finance and economics related to Defence Acquisition around the world as well as the latest developments and innovations in Defence Research and Development.
In addition, the discussions will address best practices on managing human resources in Defence, including issues related to pay, pensions and welfare of Defence Personnel and the role & functions of oversight mechanisms within defence ecosystems. More details on the conference can be viewed on the website: https://cgda.nic.in/ICDFE
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Clarification regarding release of report on Gender Vulnerability Index
Plan India, an NGO working in the field of Child Welfare, approached the Ministry of Women and Child Development for supporting their event , scheduled on 1stNovember, 2017 at India Habitat Centre New Delhi. The WCD Ministry conveyed its approval for use of its logo for the event.
During the event, Plan India released a report on Gender Vulnerability Index solely prepared by them. The Ministry of WCD was in no way associated in the drafting or compilation of the report.
However, some news reports stated that WCD Ministry has released the report of Plan India. It is clarified that the Ministry was not associated with the report. The said report was released during the event but not by the Ministry of WCD as stated in some of the news papers.
Ministry of Cooperation
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and guidance of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Ministry of Cooperation is committed to strengthen cooperatives and treat them at par with other forms of economic entities, both as beneficiaries and participants
In order to remove difficulties faced by the Urban Co-operative Banks , RBI has increased the monetary ceiling of gold loans under Bullet Repayment Scheme from Rs. 2.00 lakh to Rs. 4.00 lakh for UCBs to meet prescribed PSL target
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and guidance of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, the Ministry of Cooperation is committed to strengthen cooperatives and treat them at par with other forms of economic entities, both as beneficiaries and participants.
In order to remove difficulties faced by the Urban Co-operative Banks , the Reserve Bank of India RBI has increased the monetary ceiling of gold loans under Bullet Repayment Scheme from Rs. 2.00 lakh to Rs. 4.00 lakh for UCBs to meet prescribed Priority Sector Lending  target.
Ministry of Defence
FIRST TRAINING SQUADRON AT KUWAIT
The ships of First Training Squadron  comprising INS Tir, Sujata and CGS Sarathi arrived at Port Al-Shuwaikh, Kuwait on 04 Oct 22. The ships are deployed in the Persian Gulf as part of their training deployment.
The ships were accorded a warm welcome by senior officers of the Kuwaiti Naval forces, Border Guard and the Embassy of India officials besides school children. The three-day port call includes professional engagements, cross ship visits, community outreach and social interactions.
The ships of 1TS, based at Kochi, are part of the Southern Naval Command, Indian Navy’s Training Command.
The deployment of 1TS is aimed at exposing the trainees towards conduct of various evolutions at sea and port familiarisation. The present deployment also provides an opportunity in exposing the trainees to the sociopolitical, military and maritime linkages of India with friendly countries in our maritime neighbourhood.
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NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog to Launch Second Edition of India Innovation Index 2020
NITI Aayog will release the second edition of the India Innovation Index 2020 on 20 January in a virtual event. The index will be released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar in the presence of NITI Aayog Member Dr VK Saraswat and CEO Amitabh Kant.
The release of the second edition of the index—the first was launched in October 2019—demonstrates the Government’s continued commitment towards transforming the country into an innovation-driven economy.
The India Innovation Index 2020 seeks to rank the states and union territories based on their relative performance of supporting innovation, and to empower them to improve their innovation polices by highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. The ranking methodology is designed in a way that states can draw lessons from the national leaders in innovation. Hopefully, this will lead to a healthy competition among the states and union territories, thereby fostering competitive federalism.
The states and union territories have been divided into 17 ‘Major States’, 10 ‘North-East and Hill States’, and 9 ‘City States and Union Territories’, for effectively comparing their performance. The states and union territories have been ranked on two broad categories: outcome and governance. Overall, the framework of India Innovation Index 2020 consists of 36 indicators, which include hard data  and four composite indicators.
India Innovation Index 2020 builds on the previous year’s methodology by introducing more metrics and providing a holistic outlook of the Indian innovation ecosystem. The framework has been updated to include globally considered parameters for measuring innovation , while also retaining the parameters specific to the Indian economy.
The index captures the trends and provides detailed analyses of the various factors that drive innovation at the country, state, and district levels. It is believed that these analyses would enable policymakers in identifying catalysts and inhibitors of innovation at the national and sub-national levels.
The event will be live-streamed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7AD_1uc0Is&feature=youtu.be
Ministry of Defence
‘Aatmanirbharta’ in Defence: 164 Positive Indigenisation List items, with import substitution value of Rs 814 crore, successfully indigenised by DPSUs within stipulated timelines
In another boost to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence, 164 Positive Indigenisation List  items, with an import substitution value of Rs 814 crore, that were to be indigenised by December 2022, have met the target within the timelines and have been notified by the Department of Defence Production , Ministry of Defence . The indigenisation of these items has been achieved by Defence Public Sector Undertakings  either through Industry partners, including MSMEs, or in-house. The DPSUs-wise list of these indigenised items is available on the Srijan Portal .
The DDP has notified four PILs consisting of 4,666 items, including Line Replacement Units /Sub-systems/Spares & Components for DPSUs . It had, earlier, notified successful indigenisation of 2,572 items, with an import substitution value of Rs 1,756 crore. Now, with the notification of these 164 additional items, the total number of indigenised items till December 2022 from these PILs of DDP stands at 2,736, worth an import substitution value of Rs 2,570 crore. These indigenised items will now be procured from the Indian Industry only.
Ministry of Defence
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh approves proposal to publish relevant details of planned procurements on MoD/Services website
Key Highlights:
· Decision to promote ‘Ease of Doing Business’ & increase transparency in capital acquisition process
· Industry can plan technology tie-ups with OEMs, initiate process to set up production lines & augment capacity
· Details to be published on MoD/Services website within one week of receipt of approvals
· Security aspect to be kept in mind
The Defence Industry has regularly pitched for providing greater access to the details of procurements planned by Ministry of Defence  especially with regard to cost, quantity, offsets, trials, transfer of technology etc which are being envisaged at the Acceptance of Necessity  stage.
To promote ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and provide more transparency in capital acquisition process, aligning with the aspirations of industry, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal mandating the Service Headquarters to publish the relevant details on the Service Headquarters/MoD website within one week of receipt of approvals. The details shared will be subject to sensitivities keeping the security aspect in mind.
This is an important step towards greater transparency & information symmetry and will provide an opportunity to the additional vendors, who did not respond to the Request for Information  but wish to express interest for receipt of RFP and submission of bid. This timely visibility will enable the industry to plan technology tie-ups with Original Equipment Manufacturers , initiate the process to set up production lines and augment production capacity in anticipation of the orders likely to be placed.
Ministry of Home Affairs
Nominations for Padma Awards-2023 open till 15th September, 2022
Online nominations/recommendations for the Padma Awards 2023 to be announced on the occasion of Republic Day, 2023 have opened on 1st May 2022. The last date for nominations for Padma Awards is 15th September, 2022. The nominations/recommendations for Padma Awards will be received online only on the Rashtriya Puruskar Portal .
The Padma Awards, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, are amongst the highest civilian awards of the country. Instituted in 1954, these Awards are announced on the occasion of the Republic Day every year. The award seeks to recognize ‘work of distinction’ and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements/service in all fields/disciplines, such as, Art, Literature and Education, Sports, Medicine, Social Work, Science and Engineering, Public Affairs, Civil Service, Trade and Industry etc. All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these Awards. Government servants including those working with PSUs, except Doctors and Scientists, are not eligible for Padma Awards.
The Government is committed to transform Padma Awards into “People’s Padma”. All citizens are therefore, requested to make nominations/recommendations, including self nomination. Concerted efforts may be made to identify talented persons whose excellence and achievements really deserve to be recognized from amongst women, weaker sections of the society, SCs & STs, divyang persons and who are doing selfless service to the society.
The nominations/recommendations should contain all relevant details specified in the format available on the above said Portal, including a citation in narrative form , clearly bringing out the distinguished and exceptional achievements/service of the person recommended in her/his respective field/discipline.
Further details in this regard are also available under the heading 'Awards and Medals' on the website of Ministry of Home Affairs  and on Padma Awards Portal . The statutes and rules relating to these awards are available on the website with the link https://padmaawards.gov.in/AboutAwards.aspx .
Ministry of Railways
Passenger traffic on Indian Railways
Railways, Road and Airlines are different modes of transport, which are not comparable in terms of their volume, connectivity and convenience. During the Financial Year 2018-19, Passenger traffic on Indian Railways has registered a growth of 1.8% as compared to last year. The year wise details of passenger earnings on Indian Railways for the last five years are as under: -
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Financial Year
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Passenger Earnings 
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2014-15
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42189.61
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2015-16
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44283.26
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2016-17
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46280.46
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2017-18
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48643.14
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2018-19
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51066.65
Indian Railway has kept the passenger fares lower, keeping in view the affordability for common man. Last passenger fare revision was done in 2014-15. Indian Railway continues to incur losses in passenger segment under social service obligations, like- on account of concessions in passenger fares, on EMU suburban services, on uneconomic branch lines, on strategic lines, due to pricing of fares below cost etc.
Indian Railways continuously strives to improve passenger traffic over its network. With a view to ensure optimum utilisation of available accommodation and enhance earnings, the utilisation of reservation quota is reviewed on a periodical basis and necessary adjustments made, wherever required.
Further, various initiatives like augmentation of on-board capacity, rationalisation of flexi-fare scheme, graded discount in classes and sections with low occupancy and offering fare of AC chair Car and Second class unreserved for AC-3tier coaches and Sleeper class coaches respectively having low occupancy on particular sections, extension of Alternate Train Accommodation Scheme known as VIKALP have also been undertaken. Measures to improve passenger traffic and enhance earnings is a continuous and an on-going process. New passenger services like Vande Bharat Express, Tejas Express, Air-conditioned Electrical Multiple Unit services, Gatiman Express, Anubhuti Coaches etc. with improved features and amenities have been introduced, with appropriate fare structures.
This information was given by the Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Election Commission
General election to the Legislative Assembly of Jharkhand, 2019 – Ban on Exit Poll.
Election Commission of India, in exercise of the powers under sub-section of Section 126A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 has notified the period between 7.00 A.M. on 30th November, 2019  and 5.30 P.M. on 20th December, 2019  as the period during which conducting any exit poll and publishing or publicizing the result of exit poll by means of the print or electronic media or in any other manner shall be prohibited in the ongoing General Election to the Legislative Assembly of Jharkhand, 2019.
Further, under Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, displaying any election matter including results of any opinion poll or any other poll survey, in any electronic media, would be prohibited during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in the respective polling areas in each phase of the aforesaid General election.
Notification dated 18th November, 2019 issued in this regard is enclosed here with for the information of all concerned.
Click here to see the Notification.
Ministry of Defence
Indian Navy Sailing Championship 2021 to be conducted in Mumbai from 01-05 Oct 21
Indian Navy Watermanship Training Centre , Mumbai is set to conduct the largest intra-Navy sailing regatta, the ‘Indian Navy Sailing Championship – 2021’ from 01 to 05 Oct 21. Yachtsmen and women from all three Commands of the Indian Navy viz., Western Naval Command, Eastern Naval Command and Southern Naval Command, will be honing and demonstrating their sailing and watermanship skills in Mumbai harbour over the next five days.
Over 90 participants will take part in the event, competing in seven different classes of boats. The concept of Team Racing in Enterprise and Match Racing in J24 classes of boats is being re-introduced to facilitate enhanced team spirit and instill leadership qualities amongst the participants. The overall Champion for the event will be declared on completion of all races on 05 Oct 21.
A sail parade by 75 participants will also be conducted off INWTC  on 01 Oct 21. It is one of the events being conducted by the Indian Navy to commemorate the 75th year of India's Independence .
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